When I moved here to California I met someone who knows Ronny Conway from the VC firm Andreessen Horowitz who introduced us via email. I talked with him on the phone about 2 months ago and told him about my project and got a pretty mixed message. To be honest I really didn't know much about him or what to expect and possibly was over my head during my phone conversation with him. For one he mentioned that he only deals with companies who are looking to gross $100 million / year. He also said the fact that I had no angel investors meant I shouldn't be talking to him just yet. He also mentioned putting together a business plan. I kind of felt a lack of interest on his part but not really sure. The conversation ended flat and I kind of felt that I had wasted both my and his time. I just kind of put the whole experience aside. At least I had my first rejection.
About a months ago I had been contacted by a company called PurePhoto (www.purephoto.com) which I had never heard of before. They talked to me about doing some sort of collaboration and joining forces with them. I talked with their VP and also the CEO and had mentioned my experience above and they had similar experiences. The pretty much told me that big VCs don't really look into investing in projects like mine, which is centered around art photography.
I also talked to another acquaintance who seems to work somehow closely with angel investors and he mentioned that sometimes you can find the right angel investor who is specifically interested in the photography/art space.
So really this is unexplored territory for me. I'd be willing to take advice here or simply have a discussion.